Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Montana Business Quarterly

Monitoring Montana through BEA data.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Business people, government officials, and community development planners are but a few of Montana's leaders who must use accurate and current information to complete their daily tasks.

"What data is out there, and how do I access it?" asked Gary W. Smith, emeritus faculty from Washington State University. Smith and other economists answered that question during a daylong Bureau seminar earlier this summer.

While navigating the day's events, Smith was joined by Rob Brown from the Washington, D.C., office of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. They discussed the BEA data and showcased their interactive Web site (www.pnreap.org) on a large classroom screen while the attendees worked hands-on at their own computer workstations.

As author and project developer, Smith began the seminar by explaining the origins and transitions of the information used by the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project Web site. He launched the first rendition of the Web site in 1997 when he was on the faculty as an extension economist at Washington State University. Smith's research provides statistical information needs of key users of economic data in the Northwest.

"We show GDP over 40 years...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!